|
Anim8or News
|
May 6,
2008 -
DotAn8 Magazine
|
The e-magazine DotAn8 is
publishing again. Kevin has created 2 issues starting this past
April. They have articles, interview with featured artists,
letters to the editor and tutorials of all levels.
|
| April 14,
2008 -
Tyson Ibele Interview |
The very talented Tyson Ibele
started using Anim8or in 2000 when he was 13 or 14. It was the
first 3D animation program he used. He is not a professional
working at Make Visual in New Zealand. Here is a link to a
video interview with his that shows some of his amazing work.
|
| April 14,
2007 -
Anim8or Used for Short Films |
An Anim8or user made two short
films with Anim8or. "A Song of Thread" is 12 minutes long
and has been shown in the Nothrampton Independent Festival in
Northampton, Massachusettes and the DC Independent Film Festival in
Washington, DC. "Emmaline (who lived by the sea)" is 19 minutes
and is currently under consideration at several festivals. Here
are some stills from the films. Click on them to see larger views
and some more pictures:
Mechanical Band from "Emmaline (who lived by the sea)"
Padre and Condemned Man from "A song of thread"
|
| March 31,
2007 -
Fix for V0.95 "Missing Textures" |
There is a problem with V0.95
that can show up the first time that you run Anim8or that disables
textures, the grid in the working views, and other useful
features. I have found the cause and am testing a fix. I
will post it soon if it works.
If you can't see textures, transparency doesn't work, etc. then here's
how you get them working:
- Open
the View->Preferences dialog.
- In
the "OpenGL Workspace" section check all these boxes: "Textures", "MipMaps", "Transparency",
"Fog", "Backside". If "Use Shaders" is not grayed out you can
optionally check that one.
- In
the "File Output" section, which controls the render, check "Textures",
"Transparency" and "Fog". Optionally check "Shadows" if you want to
render
scenes with shadows but it can be a lot slower to render this way.
If you
can't see the corner labels, background grid, etc. then here's how you
get them working:
- 1.
Open the File->ConfigureGUI dialog.
- 2.
In the General section check everything: "Show Grid", "Fast Focus" and
"Show Labels".
- 3.
In the Wireframe Views section check everything: "SHow Creases", "Show
Axis" and "Transparent Faces".
- 4.
in the Solid Views section check these two boxes: "Bounding
Boxes" and "Flat Outline"
- 5.
In the Render Preview section check "Show Progress".
|
| January 7,
2007 -
Anim8or Art Covers a Book |
Daniel Oberle's book "Semantic Management of Middleware"
published by Springer features 3D art on the cover and in numerous
internal graphics that was made using Anim8or.
|
November
4,
2006 -
V0.95 Released
|
Anim8or v0.95
is now available to download. Get your copy here and
try out these great new features!
- Graphic
material
shaders. These show more realistic views of materials in the
working
views and can be used for very rapid image and movie generation.
They
are available on computers with DX9 level and above graphics cards.
- A
scripting language, called ASL. Useful for modeling tasks and
advanced controller functionality.
- Plug-ins.
Anyone can add new object export formats and parametric shapes by
writing a plugin in ASL.
- Simultaneous
shaded and wireframe views. You can set the viewing parameters
for each window independently.
|
| March 31,
2006 -
V0.95 Update |
The next release v0.95
is getting closer. Major new features are:
- Shaders for the working
views so everything will look more like a final render.
- Very fast preview movie
generation. The working views can be rendered directly to a move
or still image.
- Scripting language.
You can write a program to modify your objects, etc.
- File export
plug-ins. Anyone will be able to add support for new file
formats. Text format only for a start.
- Controllers can be
expressions.
Stay tuned for when the
beta will be out.
|
December
5,
2005 -
Student Wins National Award using Anim8or
|
|
Jamie Castle a former
student at the Royal High School in Edinburgh
won first prize in a national competition to
find the best ‘3D
environment’ created as part of the Advanced Higher Graphics course,
offered by schools in Scotland. His work titled 'Jungle
Rocks' is in the gallery:
"Jamie
was competing with
work produced in professional
level software packages," reported Jim Black, his teacher.
"Delegates to the TTA
conference were
surprised to learn that Jamie had used a piece of free software."
There’s currently an item about it on the 'competitions' page of their
web site:
|
| January
29,
2005 -
V0.9 Released |
Anim8or v0.9
is now available to download. Get your copy here and
try out the new features!
|
| November
16,
2004 -
V0.9 Beta Released |
The long awaited beta of v0.9
is now available to download. Get your copy here.
It has many new
features including Morph Targets, Edge Extrude and Painted Skinning
Weights, plus improved Splines, multiple figures and cameras, hot keys,
and more! Be sure to read all about it on the download page.
|
September
4,
2004 -
Anim8or Chat Room
|
Anim8or now has an "official"
chat room. It sponsored by Tyson Collins and is located at #anim8or on irc.dynasty.net Some of the
more active forum members
hang out there so check it out!
|
August 2,
2004 -
Anim8or Magazine
|
rufsketch1 has published the
first two editions of his new e-magazine .an8
It has tutorials and articles on using Anim8or, a variety of images
from users, and even an interview with me. How can you
resist? Get your copy while it's hot from:
dotAN81.zip
dotAN82.zip
|
| June 2,
2004 -
V0.9
Getting Closer |
V0.9 is getting closer.
There's a lot of improvements in the animation tools plus several other
things that you've been clamoring for, so stay tuned. There's
also still a lot of work left but with luck it will be ready for beta
testing mid summer. Keep your fingers crossed!
|
| May 20,
2004 -
Anim8or on the Cover of 3D User |
Anim8or continues to be
featured in computer magazines. V0.85 is on the CD and the cover
of the April 2004 issue of 3D User, a Taiwanese publication. It's
also been in several other magazines including the April issue of
Videomaker Magazine. Anim8or is also being included in a Polish
textbook for secondary schools that will be published sometime in the
future. Cool, isn't it?
|
September
6,
2003 -
V0.85
Released
|
V0.85 is now ready to download. Check out the new
modeling
features in the Release
Notes, and the get your copy now from the download page!
|
August 10,
2003 -
V0.85 Beta Release
|
The v0.85 beta is ready for testing. There are still a
few rough edges left for me to smooth over but in general I think it's
in pretty good shape. You can find a copy at download/beta along with
the manual and a description of what's changed. Please restrict
all posts about it to the Beta forum. Grab a copy and have fun!
|
July 14,
2003 -
Anim8or in the News
|
Anim8or is getting a lot of press these days. It's
currently included on CD's in the June issues of the German magazine
c't (#2003.14) (http://www.heise.de/ct/03/14/006/) and even on
the cover of the French publication FreeLog (#45) (http://www.dppresse.com/fl.htm) Check out this cool cover:
|
June 29,
2003 -
Next Release Getting Closer
|
The next release is getting closer to reality. I still
have a number of things to clean up, and the manual to update.
When those are done I'll start a beta testing period where anyone
is free to try
it out. There will be many new modeling tools and a host of other
scattered improvements. Stay tuned for more information.
|
| January 19, 2003 - V0.81 Release |
| There is a
minor update, V0.81, on the download page. It fixes a few
annoying problems that are present in v0.8. The main changes are:
* Fixes
some rendering
problems and crashes for Figures, particularly those using bump maps.
* Fix minor
fog rendering problems, and add Radial fog to renderer.
* Add control
over distance of near clip plane.
* Compute
camera FOV properly when set by users.
* Increase
maximum size of rendered images to 4K by 4K.
* Fix bug
where "edge creased" property wasn't saved to .an8 files.
* Fix .3ds
export bugs that caused MAX to reject some files with "Improper File
Format" error.
Get it here and give it a try.
|
| June 30, 2002 - V0.8 Beta |
| The V0.8
beta
is ready. Get it here
and give it a try. Comment and bugs should be reported on the
V0.8 Beta forum. Remember this is a beta so if you use it for
production work make plenty of backups. Have fun! |
| June 27, 2002 - V0.8
Beta Release
This Weekend ??? |
| I think I
can
get everything ready to release V0.8 beta this weekend. No
promises. I still have a couple of bugs to fix, and I have a
final pass over the documentation. But it's looking good.
It will be Sunday
at the earliest so don't wait up all night waiting for it ;-) |
| April 1, 2002 - V0.8
Status |
| Work on
V0.8 is progressing. The main emphasis is on improving the
renderer, with perspective correct textures, spotlights, shadows,
etc. There's
lot of other surprises, too. Right now shadows are giving me a
hard
time but I'm sure I'll win in the end. So be patient and I'll let
you know when I have an idea of the release date. |
| April 1, 2002 - Record
Downloads in March |
| Thanks to
a bit of exposure (Anim8or was a featured site:-) in the Lockergnome
newsletter (http://www.lockergnome.com)
there were a record number of copies of Anim8or downloaded in a month
this March at over 12,000! The previous record was just under
8,000 last October, and the normal rate is just over 7,000.
That's a
lot on Anim8ing if you ask me! |
| October 31, 2001 |
| Happy
Halloween! V0.7 is now officially ready to download. Get it
from the download page
now! It has many new animation controls in the Sequence and Scene
editors, and improved .avi rendering. |
| August 30, 2001 - V0.7
Status |
Version
v0.7 beta is out! Take a look at the new V0.7 Beta forum to see
what's in
it and how to get your copy. The manual is still being written
but
it should be along in a few days or so.
Have fun! |
| June 18, 2001 - V0.7
Status |
| Version
v0.7 is progressing. It's still a ways off, but it's beginning to
take
shape. The main focus it on rounding out the Scene and Sequence
editors
so you'll have much better editing tools and control of
animations.
You'll be able to animate the position, orientation, visibility, and
size
of things, the field of view of the camera, and more. Plus it
will
have lots of bug fixes and other new things. I'll post more news
as
it progresses. |
| June 18, 2001 - V0.65
PDF Manual |
| The v0.65
version of the manual is now available in .PDF format. Thanks
again to
Trent the Thief for making it. If you want to print a copy of the
manual, this is the best way to do it. But if yo do you'd better
have a lot of blue ink handy! It's on the download page. Check it
out. |
| June 18, 2001 - Anim8or
on the Mac |
| I've been
told by one very talented user that Anim8or runs quite well on a
Macintosh. VK reports that he uses Connectix Virtual PC to
emulate Windows on his Mac. He has created some wonderful models
that way. If you want to see the results, check out the gallery! |
| April 1, 2001 - Anim8or
Web Ring |
| I'm
starting an Anim8or web ring. It just 2 sites now but I'm looking
for more. If you're interested, either click on the Join Now link
in the Anim8or
Web Ring area on the entry page, or e-mail me. (I guess it's not
technically a ring until there are at least 3 sites.) |
| March 24, 2001 - v0.65
Release |
| Version
0.65 is now posted and ready to download. This was supposed to be a quick
beta so you could take advantage of some bug fixes and new modeling
tools without waiting for v0.7, and it seems to be working! There
is also an updated manual that describes how to use the new tools. |
| March 12, 2001 - v0.65
Beta |
| The v0.65
beta is out. It has a lot of new modeling tools, some bug fixes,
and more. The most interesting modeling aid is interactive mesh
subdivision. With it you don't have to keep smoothing and object
to see what it will look like. You just edit the base mesh and
it's smoothed along with your changes. Check out the new v0.65
section in the forum for details, and download it here. |
| March 5, 2001 - New
Lighting Effects Tutorial |
| There is a
really fantastic new tutorial by Laszlo Korosi in the tutorial's
section. He shows how you can make glows, star bursts and
atmospheric effects all within Anim8or. I couldn't have done
these if you'd asked me to, that is until I read his tutorial.
Check it out here.
(It's actually been there for a while but I thought I'd put a pointer
in the News so you don't miss seeing it.) |
| March 5, 2001 - Check out the Gallery |
| I've been
accused of neglecting my web site 'cause there's no new news. I
thought
no news was supposed to be good news but apparently I'm mistaken!
There are a bunch of new gallery images you should check out if you
haven't
already. Also stop by the forum to see what's happening in the
ever
growing Anim8or world. |
| December 25, 2000 -
Merry Christmas |
| I hope you
all have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! I'm off to Tonga
to go sailing, and to bring the real new millennium in.
I'll see it first, so if there's any problems I'll be sure to let you
know. Oh, I forgot. There's no e-mail on the boat. Well, I
guess that means your on your own. (Don't worry, I'll answer all
my e-mail eventually after I get back ;-) |
| December 24, 2000 - New
Springs and Coils Tutorial |
| Lloyd has
written some notes on how to create Coils and Springs. Check them
out here
on the tutorial page. |
| December 20, 2000 - 5000
Downloads in First Month |
| It took
just 32 days for the first 5000 copies of Anim8or v0.62 to be
downloaded from
this site. That's compared to about 75 days for v0.51.
(That's not counting the other places on the web that it can be
fond!) All told there were 12,006 for v0.51 :-) It's good
to have more bandwidth at my new location! |
| November 19, 2000 -
Version 0.62 is Available |
| I guess
the third time's a charm. Version 0.62 is now posted and ready to
download.
This primarily fixes a problem in locating the help file for some
operating systems. |
| November 9, 2000 - 1600
Downloads of v0.6 |
| There were
over 1600 downloads of v0.6 and 2.2 GB of download in the nine days it
was
out (in case anyone cares). I haven't even sent out the e-mail
notice to the mailing list yet! The new site is to be really
working out well. I'll have v0.51 statistics in a day or so, too. |
| November 9, 2000 -
Version 0.61 is Available |
| In a
seemingly inevitable pattern, version 0.61 is now posted and ready to download.
The main
reason is to fix a texture coordinate problem in .3ds exports.
I've
also slipped in a couple of other minor things including the ability to
load a Help file. Give a big "Thanks" to Jesse Schipilow for
creating the help file. |
| November 2, 2000 -
Ultimate Bulletin Board Forum |
| I
decided that the free forum offered by my hosting service is a bit too
lame,
so I've installed UBB, the Ultimate Bulletin Board. You need to
create a login name to post things, but you don't have to give any
private
information if you don't want to. This is one of the more popular
forum packages on the web. I hope you like it. I'll
probably
upgrade to the full version if things go well. Then I can make
the
colors match the rest of my site ;-) |
| November 1, 2000 - PDF
Version of Manual |
| Trent the
Thief has put together a PDF version of the Anim8or User's Guide
v0.6. If you ever need to print a copy, doing it from a PDF file
gives much
better results than from HTML. So go the the download page and
check it out! |
| October 30, 2000 - New
Forum |
| I'm trying
out some forum software that comes
with my new hosting service. I don't how good it is, so why don't
you check it out and let me know what you think. |
| October 29, 2000 -
Version 0.6 is Available |
| Version
0.6 is now posted and ready to download. The user interface has been
enhanced to help you navigate and manipulate your viewpoint.
There are now tool tips, directory configuration management, and a new
top toolbar with buttons for common commands. The modeler has a
new bevel operator that you use to cuts the corners off of your
models. The renderer supports fog, and nine different texture
modes including transparency. You can skin multiple bones with a
single model and more. Download it now, and enjoy! |
| October 28, 2000 -
Moving to
New Host |
| I'm in the
process of moving to a new domain host with an increased bandwidth in
anticipation of demand for v0.6. Things might be somewhat broken
until the whole thing's in place, so please be patient. |
| September 27, 2000 -
V0.6 Beta
is Out |
| The
beta for release 0.6 is being tested. There are a lot of new
features in modeling and texturing, new user interface tools for
views, tool-tips, and more. You can now attach objects to
multiple bones so that bend with them. As soon as I get the
manual done (and it's been checked out in the beta) you can get your
own copy! |
| If
you absolutely can't wait, and want to be a beta tester just
e-mail me and I'll add you to the list. |
| August 31, 2000 - Site
is Busy |
| I
haven't updated this page in a while but that doesn't mean that
nothing's happening. Release 0.6 is coming soon, and the message
board is very active with over 1500 messages to date There are
lots of new images in the gallery, new tutorials, and
new resources. |
| In
the last week the traffic at my site has grown substantially from a
normal 100 MB/day and hit the 200 MB/day limit today! I
haven't released a new version since May. I guess that it's
because of school is starting but I'm not sure what I'll do when I
release 0.6. It'll be maxed out for days! |
| There
have been almost 7000 downloads of Anim8or v0.51 and 18 GB of traffic
so far this year. I'm looking for an account with better
bandwidth.
Unfortunately I can't get DSL because I'm too far from the phone
company
:-( Guess that's what I get for living in Silicon Valley, the
back
waters of technology. |
| Enough
rambling for now. Back to working on 0.6. See you later... |
|
| May 13, 2000 - Release
0.51 |
| I had to
post
a new Anim8or.exe file, v0.51. It's on the download page
now. V0.5 would write bad .an8 files when you added multiple
materials to
a single mesh, and then crash when you reread them. The new file
will fix problems when reading the bad files, but it has to add a new
material to replace missing data, so you'll have to reenter the
material properties. No new features were added. |
| May 7, 2000 - Release 0.5 |
| Version
0.5 is here! Get it while it's hot! For those in a hurry,
go straight to the download
page, but for the rest of you, here's some of the things you can do
with it: |
- Save
images from any Preview view
- Use
any .an8 file as a library of Objects, Figures, etc. that you can
import to other projects
- Set
the grid size, and Snap to Grid
- Undo
for the Figure Editor
- Scrolling
Track Bar in Sequences and Scene so you can make Scenes that are longer
than your screen is wide
- Texture
coordinate export in .3ds files
- More
keyboard shortcuts, and tiny moves and rotates with arrow keys
- Numeric
entry for more parameters as an option
- Improved
interface
There's a lot
more, so check it out! |
| And a
special thanks goes to our wonderful Beta Testers: Damien, DashTwo,
Duane, Elias, Fred, Lloyd, Michael, Mike, and Phil! |
| March 14, 2000 -
Message Board Added |
| At the
suggestion of several users, I've added a Message Board for any topics
related to Anim8or. It's fairly basic, with no login or
images. But
that makes it easier for me to administer. If it generates much
activity I'll look into getting something with more features. So
why don't you check it out and
let
everyone know what you're doing with Anim8or! |
| The
message board software is a Freeware :-) set of Perl scripts
called RobBoard written by Rob Eisler. Check out his site
at http://www.robplanet.com
for more info if you're interested. Thanks to Anim8or user David
Nguyen for suggesting it. |
| February 1, 2000 -
Release 0.4 |
| Version
0.4 is ready, complete with an Undo/Redo command for the Object
Editor. It supports multiple Undo and Redo operations. You
can apply these commands using the menu or with a keystroke from the
new hot-key commands. |
| Object
import/export for .3ds and .obj files has been improved, and many small
problems have been smoothed out, such as better object picking, and
material management. Why not download
it now! |
| January 16, 2000 - New
Images in Gallery |
| There are
several new images in the gallery
that show what someone with talent (i.e. not me) can do. Check
them
out! |
| January 16, 2000 - Version 0.4 Coming Soon |
| Version
0.4 is nearing release. The main difference is that it will have
an "Undo" command for the Object Editor. There are quite a few
other improvements, such as better .3DS and .LWO import and export,
improved picking, and lots of little problems eliminated. It should be
out in early February. |
| November 30, 1999 -
Walking Tutorial |
| There is
now a second tutorial available. It shows you how to build a
character, using bones and objects. You'll learn how to make a
single cycle of
a walk, and how to link copies of it to make a longer walk. You
need
version 0.3 or greater for everything to work properly. To learn
more,
go to the tutorial
page. |
| November 30, 1999 -
Release 0.3, New Documentation |
| Version
0.3 is finally out. The Figure and Sequence Editors are now in a
lot better shape, so you can finally build animated characters.
The two chapters documenting them are now in the manual, too.
Many small problems have been fixed throughout Anim8or. Click here to go to the
download page and get a copy! |
| November 8, 1999 -
Version 0.3 Coming Soon |
| There
hadn't been any news in a while so I thought I'd add a note.
Version 0.3 of Anim8or is almost ready. I had hoped to have it
out by the end of October, but it turned out to be more work than I had
thought. New features will include basic character animation
support for figures (bones), and sequences (animation blocks). It
will include manual chapters on these sections and a basic tutorial. |
| September 12, 1999 - New
Tutorial Section |
| I've added
a tutorial section. It has one tutorial than shows how to build
an Eggplant model like the one I made at SIGGRAPH. I've also
included the final model and some intermediate positions as objects in
an Anim8or project
file for you to download. Take a look at it and let me know what
you think of the first Anim8or tutorial! |
| September 6, 1999 -
Release 0.2, More Documentation |
| A new
update to Anim8or is available as Animv02.zip on the download
page. It
includes a few bug fixes, as well as some new features. You can
now save images as .jpg files. Picking spline paths has been
improved.
The animation track code is new, (and might actually work!) You
can lock objects in the Scene Editor so that you don't accidentally
alter
them. I plan to add this throughout Anim8or; its really
helpful.
And spotlights kinda work now where they used to mostly not.
I had hoped
to have more done, but I decided it was better to get this posted now
rather than waiting. Hope you find it useful.
|
| September 6, 1999 - More Documentation |
| Chapter 7
on the Scene Editor is now available as AnimDv02.zip on the
download page. I know that leaves out chapters 5 and 6 on
character design and animation. But I feel that there's still a
bit of work left to do on that part of Anim8or, and I'll be working in
it next. You should also get version v0.2 since some of the
things described here had a few problems in v0.1, and there are some
new features as well. There's nothing that turns up bugs quite
like using your own application to try and write some documentation! |
| August 15, 1999 -
SIGGRAPH Fun - 3D Printing |
They had
the most amazing, hands-on demos of some new "3D Printers" at
SIGGRAPH.
What they do is "print" a real world, 3D copy of almost anything you
can
model in 3D Studio, SoftImage, or even Anim8or. I spent about 15
minutes designing a stubby little "Egg Plant" using Anim8or (they said
stubby had a better chance of working than "thin"), and this is the
result:
 
Honestly, can
you
tell which is real, and which is the fake? |
| July 27, 1999 -
Additional Documentation |
| Chapter 4
of the documentation has been written, the second part of the object
editor. It's included in the new zip file AnimDv01a.zip
on the download page. I'm working on the rest of the
manual. Please be patient! The basic figure chapter should
be out in a week, but then I'm off to SIGGraph, so it will be a bit
longer for the final parts. I'll also be posting a few sample
data files, and maybe a tutorial or two down the road. |
| July 27, 1999 - Thanks for the Support |
| I never
imagined that I'd have such positive comments! Everyone's been so
supportive. Almost 100 different people have downloaded Anim8or so far,
which is
more that I thought would try it. So, keep it up and let me know
about any problems you find in the program or docs, enhancements you'd
like to see, etc. |
| July 20, 1999 - Anim8or Introduced |
| Anim8or is
introduced to the public via. a newsgroup announcement in
comp.graphics.packages.3dstudio. |
|
| This
page was last updated on May 6, 2008. |
Copyright
2008 R. Steven Glanville
|
|
